Perdue lays out vision in State of State address

In his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the state Legislature, Perdue said that he wanted to again hike salaries for teachers, preserve more land for future generations and cut taxes for retirees.

He painted the state's economy as strong.

"Georgia is a changing, dynamic action video that is moving at the speed of a NASCAR race," Perdue said.

"We've spent the last four years working on our fundamentals, our blocking, our tackling and our special teams," Perdue said. "And now we're ready to win championships."

Perdue continued to focus on education, which was the cornerstone of his re-election win. He is recommending a 3 percent pay raise for teachers and another round of $100 gift cards for educators.

Perdue repeated his campaign pledge to add graduation coaches to the state's middle schools. He also said he wants to fund a statewide online tutoring program, but didn't provide a price tag.

The governor called on the federal government to come up with funds for the Peach Care health insurance program for children. The state is set to face a $131 million shortfall in federal funds and state health officials have warned that the popular program might end in March unless Congress steps up.

"Hear me, Georgia stands ready willing and able to play our part but we need our federal partners to meet their share of the responsibility," Perdue said.

Perdue said he will set aside $100 million to begin to fund the future costs of retiree health care benefits.

On the environmental front, Perdue said he will request another $50 million toward the purchase of undeveloped land for protection.

And he said he wants to set aside $16 million to purchase extra doses of antivirals to protect against pandemic flu.

Fishermen will have something to celebrate. Perdue is proposing $19 million for a "Go Fish" initiative to add ramps and other improvements in 15 sites along on the state's major waterways to lure large bass tournaments to the state.

"We will turn Georgia into a fishermen's paradise," Perdue said.

The Perdue administration was set to unveil its budget proposal after the speech. That spending plan will contain the nuts and bolts of the governor's initiatives.

Perdue is not expected to face much opposition pushing his budget plan through. Both chambers of the state Legislature are controlled by Republicans who have overwhelmingly embraced his agenda. He was interrupted over and over again by applause from Republican lawmakers.